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March 6, 2017

On 3/5/2017, Sunday, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Santa Cruz Police responded to a laundromat in the 1900 block of Mission Street to investigate a stolen white 1994 Ford pickup truck. The officer was then flagged down by a man who identified himself as the victim of a vehicle burglary who was detaining the suspect.

The victim claimed to have had his vehicle broken into while surfing at Four Mile Beach earlier that day. The victim reported the window was smashed out, and his clothes with several items were stolen including his iPhone. He activated the "Find my iPhone app" to track the stolen phone and located it in a truck at the laundromat.

White 1994 Ford pickup truck stolen out of San Jose

The victim and a friend looked into the interior of the truck and saw his property in plain view.

The victim opened the truck and began to retrieve his property. The suspect, Jose Sanchez, 33 years old from Watsonville, walked out of the laundromat and inquired what they were doing in “his truck.” When they told the suspect that they were retrieving their stolen property, Mr. Sanchez became extremely nervous and then said the truck belonged to someone inside the business. He then tried to get into the truck and drive away but broke the gear shift in the process.

During the exchange, the victim was calling 911 to report the incident. Jose Sanchez ran away onto Bellevue Street when he realized SCPD was in route. The pair pursued Mr. Sanchez and detained him until SCPD arrived. In his possession, Mr. Sanchez had several credit cards and driver licenses that belonged several individuals. Mr. Sanchez was also in possession of approximately 3 grams of methamphetamine and 1 gram of heroin.

In the meantime, the victim’s friend went back to the laundromat and saw a woman walking up to the truck. She asked the victim’s friend if he’d seen where her partner had gone. He explained what took place and told her to wait for the police. The woman abandoned her laundry cart next to the truck and fled. Soon after, SCPD contacted Jessica Morrissey, 29 years old from Santa Cruz, on Bellevue and Seaside Street.

Jessica Morrissey, 29 years old from Santa Cruz

Jessica Morrissey was arrested for two outstanding felony warrants and possession of narcotic controlled substances.

Jose Sanchez, 33 years old from Watsonville

In addition to an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest, Jose Sanchez was arrested for vehicle theft, possession of narcotic controlled substances and stolen property.

SCPD encourages people to enable such security features in
their portable electronic devices whenever possible and to familiarize
themselves with how to use them. If your portable electronic device is stolen
or lost and you are using a remote application to track its location, notify
your local law enforcement agency immediately and do not take independent
action to attempt to recover your property.